The use of virtual meetings of many types has increased greatly, given the recent proliferation of communication technologies, and given the relatively higher costs of conducting in-person meetings. Typically virtual meetings, which can include group chat rooms, webinars, conference calls, and the like, are assemblies of individuals for a business or social purpose conducted using a communication medium such as the Internet, a phone network, or another network. Conference calls can be used for personnel training, presentations, or for business organization, for example. During a conference call, each participant can use his or her own computer or telephone to be connected to all other participants via the network, and can participate in the sharing and exchange of audio information, video information, or both. Sharing and exchange of information can be facilitated with techniques such as virtual whiteboarding, shared work spaces, slideshow presentations, streaming video, web tours, meeting recording capabilities, simultaneous text chat, polling, surveys, screen sharing, desktop sharing, and application sharing. In many instances, a conference call is provided, hosted, or managed by a server computer.
A conference call is usually scheduled in advance by an individual who invites additional people to participate in the conference call. Such invitations are typically facilitated by an electronic calendaring and invitation system. Each invitation, which may be transmitted by email or other electronic notice, can include a specific date and time for the conference call, as well as a generic call-in number.